Thursday, September 07, 2006

We are reminded of why the city council didn't worry about severely cutting SRAC's budget this past year. If we can generalize from the small turnout for the mayoral candidates forum sponsored by an alliance of arts-minded organizations, we must say the art class doesn't get it.

Artists of the wilder, purer sort are traditionally apolitical beings. Some of those eccentrics are impoverished, some are supported by a fund. But the rest of us exist in a world compromised by rent, medical bills and car payments. We are paying-the-bills sort of artists, often subsidy-friendly, commercial-minded, grant-aware and ambitious.

Seems to me that the majority of artists stand to benefit from being politically aware. Maybe even politcally active.

The next mayoral forum, you ask? That would be Th, Sept. 14, says Roy Gerritson of Red River Radio. The public radio affiliate and the Times will partner in a forum to be held at the UC Theater in the LSUS student center. It will be broadcast in real time from 7 to 8 pm. "Questions are being taken on the Times web page, and queries written by the audience may also be used Thursday evening," said Gerritson.

2 comments:

It really floored me that although all the candidates received questions in advance, only three chose to answer any of them. That shows their potential level of commitment right there. The three that did their homework? Swaine, Glover, Acree. That should narrow the field for artists, right there.